Rimstrips and extra rim holes

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Rimstrips and extra rim holes

I recently purchased some Somax wheels second hand and after receiving them i found that they had some extra holes near the sidewall that I fear will be difficult to cover with a rimstrip (see below), but will result in flats if i don't. The overall width of the gap between the sidewalls is about 18 mm, so i may be able to get by with a 22 mm strip, but am still a little worried about that. These holes appear to have been added during manufacturing since they are anodized on the inside walls and there are a two sets of four of them on each rim, one next to the two nipple holes on each side of the valve stem hole and one set next to the two nipple holes where the rim was welded together.

Agree on the rim strip suggestion and the lack of these side/small holes causing issues. Many (maybe many millions over the years) of rims have these tiny holes and they haven't caused flats in any number to known about. Andy.

interesting... i've never seen that many holes that big in a rim like that. i probably wouldn't try to cover them, and see if they cause a problem. if so, i'm not sure what i would do. probably get rid of the rim.

If one must do something about the small holes then plug them with a caulk of sorts. No extra build up on the bead seat for the tire to have to deal with. Andy.

Auto body filler might be a good choice. Fill the holes all the way to the bottom so the pressure from the tube doesn't punch the plug out. If you smooth it out with the plastic applicators sold for that purpose you likely won't have to sand the plugs down.

Thanks for all the feedback. I agree that maybe the tire bead will cover most of the holes, but I may try to put some small pieces of electrical tape over the holes and/or sand the edges with high grit.

CliffordK, there are a total of eight holes per rim, two sets of four.